Tom Mihail is a professor at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, Indiana. His 45-year career includes 10 years as a teacher,seven years as the Executive Director and Family Counselor of an early childhood special education program in Saint Louis, and 28 years as a professor. Retired as the Chair of Graduate Special Education, a position he held for 24 years, Tom now teaches coursesfor the Department of Teacher Preparation and serves as a student teaching supervisor.

He received the Hammond Mayor's Commission on Disabilities Award (1999); the Purdue University Calumet Outstanding Teacher Award (1997); and the 1993 Illinois Department of Human Services Inservice Leadership Award for Team Development and Peer Training.

Tom earned his doctorate in Special Education from Saint Louis University, master's in Special Education from Indiana University atSouth Bend, and bachelor's in Education from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Committed to family involvement, early intervention, supported inclusive education, proactive planning for transition to adulthood,diversity, multicultural education, and the civil rights of all people, he firmly believes that "our lives begin to end on the day webecome silent about things that matter" (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).

Tom and his wife Elizabeth have a daughter and three sons, ranging in age from 10 to 30, and four grandchildren.